SMS Plan Components

Biosecurity

The SMS Partners, in coordination with the Biosecurity Working Group Members, have drafted documents for dairy premises, milk haulers, and processing plants that describe recommended biosecurity performance standards to implement in support of rapid permitting for raw milk movement in the event of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the United States. Compliance with these performance standards is intended to reduce the chance of spreading FMD and increase the chance of timely permitting of raw milk movement from uninfected dairy premises to processing. Final draft versions of these documents are available upon request.

Cleaning and Disinfection (C&D)

The SMS Partners are working with USDA to explore the number of EPA approved disinfectants available and effective against FMD virus considering the unique needs of the dairy industry. The SMS Partners serve as a point resource for more information as the various states and regions develop their SMS Plans according to their industry needs, resources availability, and climate differences.

Movement Plans

The SMS Partners, in coordination with the Milk Movement Working Group Members, have drafted recommendations related to pre-event planning and coordination that could occur on a state level to support rapid permitting for raw milk movement. Brief descriptions of some of those recommendations are provided here:

Milk products originating from an FMD control area not treated to OIE standards should be recalled

Milk treated to OIE standards for either human or animal consumption may enter commerce

Recognizing milk movement recommendations may be affected by the scope of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the United States, a document titled: Classification of Phases and Types of an FMD Disease Outbreak and Response was drafted. APHIS and State Animal Health Officials support the concepts and it is serving as a discussion platform for response management.

In addition to meeting the biosecurity performance standards, dairies in an FMD Control Area will need to implement a formalized process for daily herd inspection, or Active Observational Surveillance (AOS). AOS as part of the SMS Plan is "an active process for the detection of foot-and-mouth disease on dairy premises, utilizing trained observers (herd managers or workers) who are routinely monitoring animals on a daily basis for abnormal or increased occurrence of clinical signs compatible with FMD, or changes in food or water consumption, or milk production."

Under the overarching guidance of the Secure Milk Supply (SMS) Plan and the current Biosecurity Performance Standards for the movement of raw milk, a list of actions were recommended for handling milk from FMD virus infected dairy herds that are not depopulated during an extensive FMD outbreak.

If you are interested in learning more or participating in the discussion of milk movement, contact the Working Group Chairpersons.

Risk Assessment

The draft proactive risk assessment for the transport of raw milk into, within, and out of a Control Area during an FMD outbreak has been completed and is currently under internal review. The risk assessment identifies areas of risk that could result in further spread of FMDv from an infected but undetected dairy premises through transport of infectious milk and environmental media which contaminate the hauler and the tanker. The next step in the evaluation process is to use the risk assessment results to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed biosecurity performance standards for the dairy premises, haulers, and processing plants. University of Minnesota staff located at the USDA-APHIS-VS Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health are performing the proactive risk assessment for the transport of raw milk as one part of the Secure Milk Supply plan. For more information, please see:

Funding for this project has been provided by USDA-APHIS.
The Secure Milk Supply Plan involves collaboration between the dairy industry,
state and federal government officials, and three universities:
Iowa State University, University of California Davis, and University of Minnesota.